Brazil sets task force to probe killings in Amazon

SAO PAULO 
Brazil says it has created a special task force to investigate unsolved cases of violence against land rights and environmental activists in the Amazon jungle state of Para.

The National Council of Justice that oversees the judiciary branch says in a statement that on Oct. 25 the task force will start looking at such cases from the past 30 years. It doesn't say how many cases have accumulated in that time.

The watchdog group Catholic Land Pastoral says nearly 1,600 activists were murdered in the Para state from 1985 through 2010. The killings are mostly carried out by gunmen hired by loggers, ranchers and farmers.

The announcement of the task force was posted on the justice council's website Thursday.